Carefully Laid Plans
by Diablo42
Summary: Palpatine draws Anakin into his web to begin the Demise of the Jedi Order. Only not everything goes as planned.
1. Chapter 1

Chancellor Palpatine. Darth Sidious. Two names for one man. Though some may argue that he is no mere man, including himself. He sits in his office, waiting for the curcial piece of his plans to walk through the door. All will go well, and by the morning, the Jedi would finally be destroyed.

Darth Sidious, Chancellor of the Republic allowed himself a small smile as he contemplated the idea. The Jedi would be dead, and the Empire of the hidden Sith would rise. Darth Bane's Rule of Two would finally be recognized as the true path to Sith power.

It was then that his crucial piece entered the room. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, Member of the Jedi Council and yet not Jedi master. Palpatine hid his smirk within a grandfatherly smile as he greeted the boy, inwardly basking in the turmoil he felt beneath the unstable Jedi Knight's mind, body, and soul.

They spoke for a while, Anakin made it a bit obvious he was there to gauge how Palpatine reacted to the news of Grevious' demise. Frankly, he was a bit disappointed it'd taken so long to get rid of the General. Annoying little monstrosity was never going to be Sith.

Anakin seemed annoyed by his lack of reaction to the news that Obi-Wan had engaged Grevious, if his raised voice was anything to go off of. So Palpatine sighed and played the worried Supreme Chancellor.

He spoke as if he was just a tired old man. He spoke of how the Clone Wars were just a distraction. The irony of that statement was not lost on him, even as he claimed the Jedi Council to be the perpetrators behind the War.

Anakin did not believe him at first of course. But Sidious could also feel the doubt in his mind. Everything was going well. He asked Anakin why the Council had sent him personally, and saw on Anakin's face the doubt grow.

Anakin attempted to refute, saying the Senate would never allow it. Palpatine shook his head and claimed they'd be powerless to stop it. And in the end, they would be powerless to stop the take over. -His- take over.

He pulled out the petition those pathetic senators had tried to bring to him only weeks ago. He made sure to rebuke Anakin when he called it by the name the petitioners had given it. He made sure Anakin understood they were traitors. Traitor to the Sith of course.

He watched Anakin's face, knowing exactly what senator he was thinking about as they continued to follow the script Palpatine had put in place for this meeting. It was made even more obvious when Anakin said straight out that he didn't think 'Senator Amidala' couldn't possibly be a traitor.

Sidious kept up the attack, claiming she was betraying Anakin, even if inadvertently. It didn't really matter, he fully planned for Padme to have an accident once he had his apprentice anyways.

The conversation continued, Palpatine reminded Anakin of all the secrets he kept. Than he began the offers, giving Anakin the same spiel Plageuis had given him decades ago. Tailored just a bit of course, but in essence it was the same.

He forced the idea that Anakin could do as he wanted firmly into the unstable boy's mind. As he had forced the fake premonitions of poor Padme's demise. The boy was clearly faltering, as he stood there frozen, almost unbreathing.

Now he brought up the Myth. The Tragedy of his late long-dead master. Anakin looked confused for a moment before saying that he did indeed remember. Palpatine dropped the bombshell as he leaned forward.

It was no mere myth, Sidious knew quite well. And now so did Anakin. And with a few sentences, Anakin knew that Plageuis had been Palpatine's master. That Palpatine himself was a Sith. And Anakin's lightsaber was at his throat. All according to plan of course.

Anakin saw Sidious' real face now. But Sidious spoke with silken tones, reminding the young man that he was his friend. He had always been there for him. And most importantly, he reminded him that only -he- could save Padme. Irony once again, as he intended for her to die.

A few more words and the Lightsaber was off once more. Anakin sunk into a chair and Palpatine continued to jabber on, watching closely as Anakin's mind worked. Finally the boy got up, moved to go. Palpatine was sure he'd tell the Jedi on planet.

They'd come for him, and he'd force them to look like the aggressor. Then one careful mental command to Anakin would send him running to save the life of the only person who knew how to keep his beloved wife alive.

Anakin was moving towards the door, and Palpatine watched him go. But for some reason, at the doorway he stopped. Palpatine blinked as he stood there unmoving for a second. He felt like he was looking at a completely different man.

Had Anakin turned so quickly? Come to terms with being Sith so easily? It certainly seemed like that as the boy turned back around and stalked forward, his head still down. But as he got to the front of Palpatine, Dark Lord of the Sith's desk, his head snapped up.

Sidious met his eyes and felt an emotion he'd not felt for years upon years. For in the boy's eyes, his crucial piece to his brilliant plan, he saw nothing but complete understanding. Of everything. Palpatine felt fear for a precious few seconds as Anakin raised a finger and crooked it.

Palpatine fell forward dead, his heart pulled through his ribs. Anakin stood there for a second breathing low before he walked around the desk and removed the lightsaber from Palpatine's sleeve where it always was. A Sith's Lightsaber, for he would nee proof after all.

As Anakin turned to go, this time walking much more confidently, he spoke words. Words not on Palpatine's elaborate script.

"I'm not letting you put me in that kriffing suit again."

**A/N: So if you realize at any point before the end that this was a time travel oneshot, you are most likely psychic. If you didn't realize it until the end, or even not until you read this Author's note, don't feel bad, I tried not to make it obvious. Please review, and thanks for reading. If I get enough reviews asking for it, I will write a second chapter dealing with Anakin's point of view, and the aftermath of his actions.**


	2. Chapter 2

Conclusion

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker as you walk towards the door of the Chancellor's office. You have just found out that the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, a Republic the Jedi have always been sworn to protect, has always been a Sith Lord.

And not just any Sith Lord, oh no. This is -the- Sith Lord that the Jedi have been searching for since Naboo and Qui-Gon's death. But he's also your friend. One of the closest people in your life, he knows secrets that your master does not. You are confused, and nothing seems to make sense anymore. That is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker, right now.

And than you find yourself stopping in the doorway, because suddenly, that's not who Anakin Skywalker is anymore. People can theorize how time travel, and going back to your past body works forever and ever, but until they experience it themselves, you know they could never understand.

Anakin Skywalker is in an instant over twenty years older. He knows what happens next, and none of it turns out good for him. He tortures his daughter and watches as her planet is blown up. He cuts off his son's hand and not five seconds later tries to make his son join him, while the poor boy clings to a damaged antenna.

Most importantly, he remembers remorse once he has time to look at his actions. He remembers seeking out the most brilliant scientist in the universe and forcing the poor man to build him a bloody time machine, just so he can go back. A specific type of time machine of course, one that will not transfer his body, but merely his soul, his mind.

Anakin Skywalker is in an instant, drenched in the dark side. This is what the Sith Lord behind him feels as he stops, this sudden clarity of darkness. But beneath it all, Anakin Skywalker is still deeply in love with Padme. Because Darth Vader, has never stopped being deeply in love with Padme.

And as Anakin turns back towards Darth Sidious, and begins walking towards him, Darth Vader feels the power coursing through him. His suit had limited his strength, but never his mind. He was all the raw power of the newly turned Darth Vader, with all of the knowledge and cunning of a Darth Vader who spent twenty years learning of the Dark Side.

Who spent twenty years living in a coffin. It is that thought that fuels Anakin's rage as he looks up upon reaching Palpatine's desk. It is that thought that makes Anakin go with a simple, yet brutal kill. His finger raises, and the force bows to him as it always has. He feels as if a connection has been put between the tip of his finger and this old man's heart.

And an instant later, he pulls on that connection as hard as he can. Palpatine flops forward dead, and Anakin breathes a sigh of relief that Padme is now on her way to be safe. Darth Vader, ever the cunning mind that he is moves around the desk and takes the small lightsaber Palpatine keeps in his sleeve.

He walks out the door without looking back, projecting calm to the secretary right outside. Once he is out of the building, he takes a right and ducks down an alley way for a moment. A flash of red, and Anakin places burns on his neck, his chest, and his arms.

Darth Vader is already planning how his conversation with Mace Windu will go this time around. Palpatine was always the Sith Lord. He had sought to turn Anakin, but Anakin would not be turned. In his anger, the Sith Lord had attacked.

It had been a hard fight, a close one. Anakin had no managed to land a single blow on the Sith Lord, and barely kept from being dismembered or decapitated more than once. In the end, Anakin had been forced to use his anger.

Palpatine had taunted him during the duel of course, and Anakin had never been the most levelheaded person. He had let his anger guide his actions, and in a moment Palpatine was dead. Anakin would confess to not even knowing how he'd done it. That would be the point he'd tender his resignation with the Jedi, stating that he needed to learn to control his feelings better.

He would say goodbye to Obi-Wan once the man returned to Coruscant after finishing off Grevious. He would tell Padme he was taking her up on her offer to leave the Republic behind.

As he walked towards the nearest air taxi looking a bit beat-up, he suddenly remembered something important. An instant later the Dark Side cloak Sidious had constructed for years to blind the Jedi to his plans was gone, all of it rushing into Anakin in an instant. Darth Vader knew that that would convince the Jedi most of all. Clarity always blinded people.

Scene Break

**A/N: Quick Author's note, the type of story telling will now change to more of a third person and there will be more dialogue. I still may write little scenes to give an idea of what's going on in different heads though.**

Jedi Master Mace Windu had felt it, and he was sure most of the order had as well. He was sure the Grand Master, even all the way on Kashyyk. The Force was suddenly incredibly clear, whatever having blocked it for over a decade now suddenly gone. It was exhilarating, and not until now did the Jedi master realize that the clouding of the Force had been hampering all of the Jedi's natural abilities.

He had no doubt, that across countless worlds right now, Jedi were suddenly finding themselves with a power boost. He himself felt like he could take on twice the number of droids he'd seen on Geonosis singlehandedly. It was then that Anakin Skywalker staggered into the docking bay looking rather worse for wear. Windu hurried over to him and helped support him even as he asked.

"Knight Skywalker, what happened to you?" Anakin grunted and looked up into Mace's eyes even as he removed something from his belt and held it out.

"Palpatine. He was the Sith Lord we've been looking for." He pushed the small sith lightsaber into Mace's hands.

The Jedi Master couldn't believe it, he looked down at the small saber he knew Anakin had not ever built and faced it away from the two of them. An instant later the red beam split the air, humming almost sinisterly. Mace Windu was shocked, even as he saw what Anakin had done. The boy had been a shatterpoint, on which the entire galaxy had hinged. And somehow, even if Mace didn't fully understand it yet, the boy had saved them all.

It was then that Anakin pulled out a datapad and flipped through a page. When he showed it to Mace, the Master saw that it was a list of the special contingency orders the Senate had rushed through only a month ago. As he read the Order that Anakin directed him to, his insides ran cold.

Order Sixty-six. It was becoming clearer by the second that someone had been plotting to destroy the Jedi using their own troops. Anakin nodded as he saw the understanding in the Korun's eyes.

"This was his plan. He was going to destroy the Jedi in one fell swoop, and then institute a Galatic Empire while proclaiming the Jedi traitors. He wanted me to join him, tried to use that connection you and the council have been so concerned about. But I'm not willing to kill innocents."

Mace Windu was struggling to process all of this, when he suddenly realized how Anakin had come to be injured. He began dragging the man deeper into the temple, looking for a Healer.

"You are injured. You can tell me more as we look for someone to heal you. How did you survive? How did you finish him?"

Anakin grimaced and began his spiel, "I angered him with my rejection I suppose. He attacked me, and I fond myself barely able to defend. I couldn't land a single strike on him, and it was all I could do to keep him from landing a mortal blow. In the end, I failed the Jedi, Master. I gave into my anger to finish the Sith Lord."

Mace looked completely shocked to hear this, and they stood stock still for a moment before he remembered what they were doing and hurried Anakin along. As he looked at the man closer though, he could see the darkness within him. It was writhing and swirling, but oddly enough seemed completely contained. He had never seen this control from Anakin before. He almost missed Anakin's next words as he studied this phenomenon.

"That is why I think it best I resign from the Order Master. I do not feel I can continue to operate as a Jedi Knight."

Mace blinked, even more stunned. Anakin, leave the Order? The Order was his life. He was the Chosen One and he'd just restored balance to the kriffing Force!

"That will not be necessary. I can see the darkness within you Skywalker, and you have it tightly reigned. In point of fact, you remind me of myself."

Anakin looked honestly surprised as he blinked owlishly at the man, hoping for more of an explanation. Mace eventually gave him one.

"As I'm sure you know, I am the only living Master of Vaapad. I am also it's creator. I created it out of necessity, as a way to control -my- inner darkness. So you see, you do not need to leave the order because of one minor slip while being goaded by a Sith Lord. Learning to control the darkness is something you're supposed to do as a Jedi."

Anakin was silent as they finally found a healer, and the self-inflicted injuries began to disappear under skilled hands. He had not expected his whole darkness excuse to fail. It brought Mace Windu into a whole new light though. Still, he did not want to stick around! He could not become a Jedi again, not after over twenty years of being a Sith.

At this point, he felt as if his only option was to proclaim he was married. That would get him expelled he hoped. But he would talk to Padme first, and make sure she was understanding of the idea. He had made decisions without consulting her before, and he knew where that ended him up.

Mace Windu just assumed Anakin's silence meant he was relieved to know he'd not be forced to leave the Order. In reality, Darth Vader was already busy planning his escape.

**A/N: So yeah, many of you will finish this and still feel it's not very complete. Kinda because it isn't. If I continue getting people telling me they enjoy it and want more though, I shall definitely keep writing.**


End file.
